Fulcrum shifting device for diving boards

ABSTRACT

A fulcrum is formed near the secured end of the diving board by a transverse fulcrum member on which the diving board rests and about which the springing of the diving board is fulcrumed. The fulcrum member is supported at its ends slideably longitudinally with respect the diving board to change the location of the fulcrum thereby to change the stiffness or springing action of the diving board. The fulcrum is shifted by means of one or more lines secured to the fulcrum member and played over fixed guides and over movable guides and fixedly anchored at their free ends. A diving board lifting device raises the diving board to free the fulcrum member from the weight of the board while the fulcrum member is pulled into selected position. The manipulating handle for pulling said lines for shifting the fulcrum member and a pedal for operating the diving board lifting device are in such relation as to permit a person to operate them simultaneously.

United States Patent 978,400 12/1964 GreatBritain Henry Hopfeld Valley Head, Ala. 35989 793,871

Jan. 24, 1969 Feb. 16, 1971 lnventor Appl. No. Filed Patented FULCRUM SHIFIING DEVICE FOR DIVING BOARDS 10 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Richard W. Diaz, Jr. Attorney-George B. White ABSTRACT: A fulcrum is formed near the secured end of the diving board by a transverse fulcrum member on which the diving board rests and about which the springing of the diving board is fulcrumed. The fulcrum member is supported at its ends slideably longitudinally with respect the diving board to change the location of the fulcrum thereby to change the stiffness or springing action of the diving board. The fulcrum is shifted by means of one or more lines secured to the fulcrum member and played over fixed guides and over movable guides and fixedly anchored at their free ends.

A diving board lifting device raises the diving board to free the fulcrum member from the weight of the board while the fulcrum member is pulled into selected position. The manipulating handle for pulling said lines for shifting the fulcrum member and a pedal for operating the diving board lifting device are in such relation as to permit a person to operate them simultaneously.

i PATENTED am am: 3563540 SHEET 1 [1F 3 INVENTOR HE/Vl? Y HOPFELD ATTORNEY PATENTEDFEBIBIQT! 3.563540 sum 2 UF 3 INVENTOR HENRY HOPFELD I I BY y; /Z4/%z12 ATTORNEY F ULCRUM SHIFTING DEVICE FOR DIVING BOARDS BACKGROUND QFTHE INVENTION The fulcrum of a diving board or spring board is shifted to adjust its stiffness or springing to suit the diver. One-of the admeans thereby eliminating elaborate devices and operations for fulcrum adjustment, yet providing for positively holding the fulcrum member in an adjusted position and minimizing friction during its shifting longitudinally of the diving board.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the fulcrum end and support for the diving board, showing the fulcrum held in adjusted position.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of said fulcrum end and support showing the fulcrum relieved for adjustment.

IFIG. 3 is a perspective detail view of the rockable device for raising the diving board.

FIG. 4 is a perspective diagrammatic view of the fulcrum pulling mechanism. 1 f

FIG. 5 is a fragmental cross-sectional view of one of the fulcrum guides. I FIG. 6 is a fragmental perspective detail view of the fulcrum and its guides.

FIG. 7 is a partly cross sectional view of the diving board and its fulcrum supports and adjusting devices.

FIG. 8 is a fragmental plan view of the diving board, partly broken away, to show the fulcrum support and the board-lifting device.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT P A diving board 1 is secured at its end 2 to a crossbar 3 of a support frame, in the herein illustration a skeleton frame 4. A fulcrum member in the form of a flat board 6 extends across the underside of the diving board 1 spaced at a selected distance'from the fixed end 2 to determine the springiness at the free end of the diving board 1.

In order to facilitate fulcrum adjustment by a person while standing on the diving board, there is provided a board lifting device'7 operated by means of a pedal 8, and fulcrum shifting inechanism 9 manipulated by a handle 11. The pedal 8 is preferably on the same side and in the proximity of the manipulating handle 11 so that fulcnim adjustment can be performed by stepping on the pedal 8 to lift the diving board 1 off the fulcrum board 6 and manipulating the handle while the pedal 8 is held down.

The fulcrum board 6 has under each end thereof a guide pad 12 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, made of suitably firm resiliently compressible material such as rubber or neoprine. A pair of parallel spaced guide channels 13 extend longitudinally with respect to the diving board 1 and said guide pads 12 are normally slideable in said guide channels 13. The guide pads 12 are suitably secured to the fulcrum board 6. A pluraliof bearing balls 14 are partially held in sockets 16 and are rotatable therein when the pressure on the pads 12 is relieved so as to provide antifriction support and facilitate sliding of the pads 12 in the guide channels 13. Each pad 12 is of such proportions that, when supported on the bearing balls 14 the pad 12 projects above the top of the guide channel 13 and when compressed by the pressure of the diving board thereon, the pad 12 imbeds the bearing balls 14 and is pressed against the bottom and is expanded against the sides of the guide channel 13, thereby preventing the shifting of the fulcrum board 6.

The diving board lifting or fulcrum relieving device 7 includes a rocking shaft 17 journaled in bearings 18 on the support frame 4-beneath the guide channels 13. The pedal 8 is secured to an end of the rocking shaft 17 projecting beyond the adjacent longitudinal edge of the diving board 1. A pair of spaced lifting fingers 19, in the herein embodiment formed by bent wires, extend from the rocking shaft 17. The fingers 19 are longer than the distance between the rocking shaft 17 and the diving board 1 and extend substantially oppositely to the pedal 8, so that as the pedal 8 is depressed toward the level of the diving board 1, the fingers are turned toward and into engagement with the underside of the diving board 1 therebyto lift the diving board 1 and relieve the fulcrum board 6. A coil spring 21 has one end anchored in an arm 22 and its other end to the support 4, normally to urge the rocking shaft 17 into an initial position with the fingers l9 turned away from the diving board 1. The fulcrum shifting mechanism 9 includes a fulcrum shaft 26 in bearings 27 beneath the guide channels 13. The handle 11 is fixed on the projecting-end of the fulcrum shaft 26 in proximity of the pedal 8. A guide bracket 28 extends upwardly from the support 4 and has a slot 29 which slideably guides the handle 11. Spaced lever arms 31 extend downwardly from the fulcrum shaft 26. Each lever arm 31 is formed of a pair of parallel strips and between each pair of strips are a pair of guide rollers 32 and 33 on a cross pin 34. On perpendicular posts 36 and 37 spaced on opposite sides of the fulcrum shaft 26 and of each of the arms 31, are mounted respectively vertically aligned guide rollers 38, 39, 41 and 42.

A line 43 is anchored in a bracket 44 and is then played around the fixed guide rollers 38 and 39 on the post 36, and then around the movable guide roller 32 and has its free end 46 suitably anchored on the same post 36. Another line 47 is anchored on the anchor bracket 44 and is played around the other pair of fixed guide rollers 41 and 42 on the post 37, ad-

jacent the secured end 2 of the diving board, and then around the other movable guide roller 33 on the lever arm 31 and then suitably anchored at its free end 48 to the post 37 beneath the fixed guide roller 42. The line arrangement. at each lever arm 32 is identical.

In operation the person adjusting the fulcrum stands on the diving board somewhere between the fulcrum board 6 and the secured end 2, and steps on the pedal 8 so as to push the pedal 8 down from the position shown in FIG. 1 into the position shown in FIG. 2, thereby lifting the diving board 1, in the manner heretofore described, and freeing the fulcrum board 6. While the pedal 8 is still depressed, the handle 11 is moved from the position shown in FIG. 1 into the position shownin FIG. 2, thereby moving the lever arms 31 toward the post 37 and pulling lines 43 and the fulcrum board 6 away from the secured end 2, thus increasing the stiffness of the diving board 1. Adjustment in the opposite direction is performed by moving the handle 11 toward the secured end 2 thereby pulling the other lines 47 and pulling the fulcrum board back toward said fulcrum end 2, until the desired springiness is achieved. As the pedal 8 is released the coil spring 21 returns it to its initial position, and the diving board 1 again bears on the fulcrum board 6 and locks it in adjusted position as heretofore described.

The lines 43 and 47 may be formed out of a continuous cord secured at about its middle in the anchor bracket 44 on the underside of the fulcrum board 6. There is an anchor bracket 44 on the fulcrum board 6 near each guide channel 13 thereby to exert simultaneous and equal pull on both ends of the board 6 and prevent binding in the guide channels.

I claim:

1. In a fulcrum shifting device for diving boards,

a support for holding an end of the diving board,

means to secure said end to said support,

an adjustable fulcrum member spaced from said end for fulcruming said diving board, guide means adjustably supporting said adjustable fulcrum member in engagement with said diving board,

manipulable means for sliding said adjustable fulcrum member-along said guide means for varying the spacing of said fulcrum member from said end,

and means to relieve one of said fulcrum member and diving board out of engagement with the other thereby to permit said manipulable means to slide said fulcrum member to a selected spacing from said end.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, and

said manipulable means for sliding said adjustable fulcrum member including,

a pivoted rocking arm downwardly extended relatively to said guide means,

a pair of adjacent line guides on said arm,

first line guides spaced from one side of said rocking arm,

second line guides spaced from the other side of said rocking arm,

a line fixed to said fulcrum member and played around said first line guides and around one of said adjacent line guides on said arm and having its free end anchored spaced from said rocking arm,

a line fixed to said fulcrum member and played around said second line guides and then around the other adjacent line guide on said rocking arm and having its end anchored spaced from said arm,

and a manipulating handle connected to said rocking arm for rocking said arm thereby to pull said fulcrum member to selected spacing from said end of the diving board.

3. The invention defined in claim 1,

said manipulable means for sliding said adjustable fulcrum member including,

at least one shifting line anchored at about its middle portion to said fulcrum member,

a first pair of vertically spaced guide rollers adjacent said held end,

a second pair of vertically spaced rollers spaced from said held end beyond said fulcrum member,

an arm pivoted on a pivot fixed relatively to said guide means and extended downwardly with respect to said guide means,

a pair of adjacent guide rollers on said arm,

said shifting line having one end played around said first vertically spaced rollers and then around one of said adjacent rollers on said arm and then fixedly anchored at a point spaced from said arm,

said shifting line having its other end played over said second vertically spaced rollers and then around the other of said adjacent rollers on said arm and then fixedly anchored at a point spaced from said arm,

and a manipulating handle connected to said arm for rocking said arm thereby pulling said fulcrum member in selected directions to change the spacing of said fulcrum member from said held ,end of said diving board.

4. The invention defined in claim 1, and

said fulcrum member extending across the underside of said diving board so as to support said diving board thereat,

and said relieving means including,

a rocking shaft journaled below said guide means and extended transversely relatively to said diving board,

lifting projections on said rocking shaft for raising said diving board away from said fulcrum member when rocked upwardly by said rocking shaft thereby relieving said fulcrum member,

spring means normally to urge said rocking shaft to turn said projections away from said diving board,

and means extended from said rocking shaft above and along a side of the diving board whereby said rocking shaft is rocked for raising said diving board.

5. The invention defined in claim 4, and

said means for rocking said rocking shaft being a pedal adjacent a side of the diving board and in operative proximity to said manipulable means.

6. The invention defined in claim 1, and

said fulcrum member extending across the underside of said diving board so that the diving board rests upon said fulcrum member, said guide means including parallel channels ad acent the respective opposite longitudinal edges of the diving board,

a guide member extended from said fulcrum member into each channel,

nonfriction spacers between the bottom of each channel and the adjacent compressible guide member being carried by said guide member for slideably supporting said guide member in said channel,

each guide member being resiliently compressible whereby said guide member being pressed and expanded against the bottom of said channel by the weight of the diving board pressing on said fulcrum member thereby locking said fulcrum member in an adjusted position and resiliently springing away from said bottom to expose said nonfriction spacers when said diving board pressure is relieved from said fulcrum member thereby rendering said guide members slideable in the channels for adjusting said fulcrum member longitudinally of the diving board.

7. The invention defined in claim 6, and

said manipulable means including at least one arm pivoted on a pivot fixed relatively to said guide means and extended downwardly with respect to said guide means,

a pair of line guides on said arm,

first and second line guides spaced respectively from opposite sides of said rocking arm,

a pair of lines secured to said fulcrum member and extending in opposite directions respectively over and around said first and second line guides,

the free end of each line extending around one of said line guides on said arm and being anchored at a point spaced from the respective arm line guide, thereby to pull said fulcrum member in respective opposite directions according to the direction in which said arm is rocked.

8. The invention defined in either of claims 2, and transverse the pivot for said rocking arm being a rocking shaft transverse to and below said diving board and being journaled on said support,

and a manipulating handle extended from an end of said rocking shaft at one side and above said diving board.

9. The invention defined in claim 8, and said relieving means including an operating pedal at the same side of said diving board as said manipulating handle and adjacent thereto for simultaneous operation.

10. The invention defined in either of claims 1, and said relieving means including,

a rocking shaft journaled below said guide means and extended transversely relatively to said diving board,

lifting projections on said rocking shaft for raising said diving board away from said fulcrum member when rocked upwardly by said rocking shaft thereby relieving said fulcrum member,

spring means normally to urge said rocking shaft to turn said projections away from said diving board,

and an operating pedal extended from said rocking shaft on the same side as and adjacent to said manipulating handle for simultaneous operation.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION February 16, 197

Patent No. 3,563,540 Dated Henr H0 feld Inventor(s) y p It is certified that error appears in the above-identified pateni and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 4 lines 43 and 44 "either of claims 2 and transverse" should read claim 2 Signed and sealed this 15th day of June 1971 (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR. Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM Po-1050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC a 

1. In a fulcrum shifting device for diving boards, a support for holding an end of the diving board, means to secure said end to said support, an adjustable fulcrum member spaced from said end for fulcruming said diving board, guide means adjustably supporting said adjustable fulcrum member in engagement with said diving board, manipulable means for sliding said adjustable fulcrum member along said guide means for varying the spacing of said fulcrum member from said end, and means to relieve one of said fulcrum member and diving board out of engagement with the other thereby to permit said manipulable means to slide said fulcrum member to a selected spacing from said end.
 2. The invention defined in claim 1, and said manipulable means for sliding said adjustable fulcrum member including, a pivoted rocking arm downwardly extended relatively to said guide means, a pair of adjacent line guides on said arm, first line guides spaced from one side of said rocking arm, second line guides spaced from the other side of said rocking arm, a line fixed to said fulcrum member and played around said first line guides and around one of said adjacent line guides on said arm and having its free end anchored spaced from said rocking arm, a line fixed to said fulcrum member and played around said second line guides and then around the other adjacent line guide on said rocking arm and having its end anchored spaced from said arm, and a manipulating handle connected to said rocking arm for rocking said arm thereby to pull said fulcrum member to selected spacing from said end of the diving board.
 3. The invention defined in claim 1, said manipulable means for sliding said adjustable fulcrum member including, at least one shifting line anchored at about its middle portion to said fulcrum member, a first pair of vertically spaced guide rollers adjacent said held end, a second pair of vertically spaced rollers spaced from said held end beyond said fulcrum member, an arm pivoted on a pivot fixed relatively to said guide means and extended downwardly with respect to said guide means, a pair of adjacent guide rollers on said arm, said shifting line having one end played around said first vertically spaced rollers and then around one of said adjacent rollers on said arm and then fixedly anchored at a point spaced from said arm, said shifting line having its other end played over said second vertically spaced rollers and then around the other of said adjacent rollers on said arm and then fixedly anchored at a point spaced from said arm, and a manipulating handle connected to said arm for rocking said arm thereby pulling said fulcrum member in selected directions to change the spacing of said fulcrum member from said held end of said diving board.
 4. The invention defined in claim 1, and said fulcrum member extending across the underside of said diving board so as to support said diving board thereat, and said relieving means including, a rocking shaft journaled below said guide means and extended transversely relatively to said diving board, lifting projections on said rocking shaft for raising said diving board away from said fulcrum member when rocked upwardly by said rocking shaft thereby reliEving said fulcrum member, spring means normally to urge said rocking shaft to turn said projections away from said diving board, and means extended from said rocking shaft above and along a side of the diving board whereby said rocking shaft is rocked for raising said diving board.
 5. The invention defined in claim 4, and said means for rocking said rocking shaft being a pedal adjacent a side of the diving board and in operative proximity to said manipulable means.
 6. The invention defined in claim 1, and said fulcrum member extending across the underside of said diving board so that the diving board rests upon said fulcrum member, said guide means including parallel channels adjacent the respective opposite longitudinal edges of the diving board, a guide member extended from said fulcrum member into each channel, nonfriction spacers between the bottom of each channel and the adjacent compressible guide member being carried by said guide member for slideably supporting said guide member in said channel, each guide member being resiliently compressible whereby said guide member being pressed and expanded against the bottom of said channel by the weight of the diving board pressing on said fulcrum member thereby locking said fulcrum member in an adjusted position and resiliently springing away from said bottom to expose said nonfriction spacers when said diving board pressure is relieved from said fulcrum member thereby rendering said guide members slideable in the channels for adjusting said fulcrum member longitudinally of the diving board.
 7. The invention defined in claim 6, and said manipulable means including at least one arm pivoted on a pivot fixed relatively to said guide means and extended downwardly with respect to said guide means, a pair of line guides on said arm, first and second line guides spaced respectively from opposite sides of said rocking arm, a pair of lines secured to said fulcrum member and extending in opposite directions respectively over and around said first and second line guides, the free end of each line extending around one of said line guides on said arm and being anchored at a point spaced from the respective arm line guide, thereby to pull said fulcrum member in respective opposite directions according to the direction in which said arm is rocked.
 8. The invention defined in either of claims 2, and transverse the pivot for said rocking arm being a rocking shaft transverse to and below said diving board and being journaled on said support, and a manipulating handle extended from an end of said rocking shaft at one side and above said diving board.
 9. The invention defined in claim 8, and said relieving means including an operating pedal at the same side of said diving board as said manipulating handle and adjacent thereto for simultaneous operation.
 10. The invention defined in either of claims 1, and said relieving means including, a rocking shaft journaled below said guide means and extended transversely relatively to said diving board, lifting projections on said rocking shaft for raising said diving board away from said fulcrum member when rocked upwardly by said rocking shaft thereby relieving said fulcrum member, spring means normally to urge said rocking shaft to turn said projections away from said diving board, and an operating pedal extended from said rocking shaft on the same side as and adjacent to said manipulating handle for simultaneous operation. 